U.S. wakes up to cybercrime threat

Businesses in the U.S. are increasingly waking up to the threat of cyber crime according to the latest Lloyd’s Risk Index, but evidence shows the problem of cyber crime is growing and preparedness across the globe remains low.

The 2011 Lloyd’s Risk Index, a survey of 500 global business leaders’ perceptions of global risk shows:

• Malicious cyber attacks were ranked the 4th highest priority risk in North America where businesses are currently facing annual cybercrime costs of $96bn.
• However, cyber crime is ranked only 14th out of 50 risks in Europe and 20th out of 50 in the Asia-Pacific region, barely moving from its placing in the 2009 Lloyd’s Risk Index and despite the evidence of ever-increasing cyber attacks.

In addition, the low ranking comes at a time when evidence has emerged from Lloyd’s syndicate, Barbican, which estimates that only 10% of those that could be affected by cyber crime have cover for the growing risk.

Richard Ward, CEO of Lloyd’s of London, said: “It’s encouraging to see U.S. businesses increasingly wake up to the threat of cyber crime, as it presents a major risk to businesses and governments. As recent high profile events have shown, criminals are exploiting weaknesses in new technology faster than security solutions are being developed, while current legislation is usually either inadequate or internationally inconsistent.”

“We need states, businesses and insurers to work together more closely to tackle this growing threat at the heart of the world’s economy,” he added.